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Video: Clinton: Iran’s pursuit of nukes ‘futile’

Transcript of: Clinton: Iran’s pursuit of nukes ‘futile’

MR. GREGORY:Let me turn to another
hot spot
, and that is
Iran
. A big headline this week, again, with your words:"
Clinton
's `
Defense Umbrella
'
Stirs Tensions
." The headlines goes on, "
Suggests U.S. Will Have
to
Protect Allies From Nuclear-Armed Iran
." You were in
Bangkok
on Wednesday, and this is what you said that got this started.

SEC'Y CLINTON:We want
Iran
to calculate what I think is a fair assessment, that if the
United States
extends a defense umbrella over the region, if we do even more to support the military capacity of those in the
Gulf
, it's unlikely that
Iran
will be any stronger or safer, because they won't be able to intimidate and dominate as they apparently believe they can once they have a
nuclear weapon
.

MR. GREGORY:Did you mean to suggest that the
U.S.
is considering a nuclear umbrella that would say to nations in the
Arab world
that an attack on you, just like
NATO
or
Japan
is an attack on the
United States
, and the
United States
would retaliate?

SEC'Y CLINTON:Well, I think it's clear that we're trying to affect the internal calculus of the Iranian regime. You know, the
Iranian government
, which is facing its own challenges of legitimacy from its people, has to know that that a pursuit of
nuclear weapons
, something that our country along with our allies stand strongly against. We believe as a matter of policy it is unacceptable for
Iran
to have
nuclear weapons
. The
G-8
came out with a very strong statement to that effect coming from
Italy
. So we are united in our continuing commitment to prevent
Iran
from obtaining
nuclear weapons
. What we want to do is to send a message to whoever is making these decisions that if you're pursuing
nuclear weapons
for the purpose of intimidating, of projecting your power, we're not going to let that happen. First, we're going to do everything we can to prevent you from ever getting a
nuclear weapon
. But your pursuit is futile, because we will never let
Iran
-- nuclear-armed, not nuclear-armed, it is something that we view with great concern, and that's why we're doing everything we can to prevent that from ever happening.

MR. GREGORY:All right, but let's be specific. Are you talking about a nuclear umbrella?

SEC'Y CLINTON:We, we are, we are not talking in specifics,
David
, because, you know, that would come later, if at all. You know, my view is you hope for the best, you plan for the worst. Our hope is -- that's why we're engaged in the president's policy of engagement toward
Iran
-- is that
Iran
will understand why it is in their interest to go along with the consensus of the
international community
, which very clearly says you have rights and responsibilities. You have a right to pursue the peaceful use of civil
nuclear power
. You do not have a right to obtain a
nuclear weapon
. You do not have the right to have the full enrichment and reprocessing cycle under your control. But there's a lot that we can do with
Iran
if
Iran
accepts what is the international consensus.

MR. GREGORY:One of the big challenges here is preventing
Israel
from acting first; if they feel there's an existential threat, would they strike out at
Iran
to take out a
nuclear program
. And there's been various positions taken within the administration about that. Vice President
Biden
just a couple of weeks ago said this on
ABC
: "We cannot dictate to another
sovereign nation
what they can and cannot do when they make a determination, if they make a determination, that they are existentially threatened and their survival is threatened by another country." Meantime,
Admiral Michael Mullen
, chairman of the
Joint Chiefs
, said, "Well, I have been for some time concerned about any strike on
Iran
[by
Israel
]. I worry about it being very destabilizing, not just in and of itself, but the unintended consequences of a strike like that." Where do you fall on the spectrum of the administration views about the impact of a strike by
Israel
?

SEC'Y CLINTON:Well, let me say that I personally don't see the contradiction here. The vice president was stating a fact.
Israel
is a
sovereign nation
. Any
sovereign nation
facing what it considers to be an existential threat, as successive Israeli governments have characterized the possibility of
Iran
having a
nuclear weapon
would mean to them, is not going to listen to other nations, I mean, if they believe that they are acting in the furtherance of their survival. However, as Admiral
Mullen
said, you know, we continue to believe that very intensive diplomacy, bringing the
international community
together, making clear to the Iranians what the costs of their pursuit of
nuclear weapons
might be is the preferable route. So clearly, we have a, a long, durable relationship with
Israel
. We believe strongly that
Israel
's security must be protected. But we also believe that pursuing this path with
Iran
that we're on right now, that frankly we're bringing more and more people to see it our way -- I thought the
G-8
statement was quite remarkable in that sense -- is the better approach for us to take. So we will continue to work with all of our allies, and most particularly
Israel
, to determine the best
way forward
to prevent
Iran
from becoming a
nuclear weapon state
.

MR. GREGORY:Defense Secretary Gates
is on his way to
Israel
this week. Is the message to the
Israelis
, "You got to hang tight here"?

SEC'Y CLINTON:Well, also,
General Jones
will be there. We have a full panoply of a lot of our
national security
team that will be meeting with comparable Israeli officials. And our message is as it has been: The
United States
stand with you, the
United States
believes that
Israel
has a right to security. We believe, however, that this approach we're taking holds out the promise of realizing our common objective. And we want to brief the
Israelis
, we want to listen to the
Israelis
and we want to enlist the support of all of our allies and friends in moving forward on this policy.

MR. GREGORY:Is
Iran
an illegitimate regime?

SEC'Y CLINTON:You know, that's really for the people of
Iran
to decide. I have been moved by the, just the cries for freedom and, and the clear appeal to the
Iranian government
that this really significant country with a people that go back millennia that has such a great culture and history deserves better than what they're getting.

MR. GREGORY:But if the
United States
decides to negotiate with
Iran
over its
nuclear program
, as has been the stated policy of the willingness to engage, are you not betraying this
democratic movement
trying to overthrow that regime?

SEC'Y CLINTON:I don't think so,
David
, because you can go back in history -- and not, you know, very long back -- where we have negotiated with many governments who we did not believe represented the will of their people.
Look
at all the negotiations that went on with the
Soviet Union
.
Look
at the breakthrough and subsequent negotiations with
communist China
. That's what you do in diplomacy. You don't get to choose the people; that's up to the internal dynamics within a society. But clearly, we would hope better for the
Iranian people
. We would hope that there is more openness, that peaceful demonstrations are respected, that press freedom is respected. Yet, we also know that whoever is in charge in
Iran
is going to be making decisions that will affect the security of the region and the world.

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton stood fast Sunday behind the Obama administration's readiness to engage with foes like Iran and North Korea and heaped praise on China in advance of two days of critical talks aimed at easing the global economic downturn.

Insisting Washington remained open to dialogue with Tehran, Clinton declined to reveal any specifics of a possible defense umbrella she recently mentioned as a means of protecting Mideast allies against Iran's nuclear program.

Clinton also implicitly urged Israel to set aside any plans it might have for a pre-emptive strike on Iranian nuclear sites and to give U.S. policy time to work.

On North Korean belligerence, Clinton said the regime there was isolated as never before and that China had been enormously helpful in pressuring Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear program.

Heaps praise on China
The secretary of state, recently returned from a tour of Asia, credited China with being "extremely positive and productive." Her positive words will not be lost on the Chinese as they sit down Monday and Tuesday with Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner for talks on easing strains on the global economy despite tensions over currencies, the U.S. budget deficit and the huge U.S. trade gap with China.

The hardline regime in North Korea has abandoned promises to dismantle its nuclear program and recently conducted a number of missile tests and an underground nuclear explosion in defiance of U.N. resolutions and international agreements.

As President Barack Obama struggles with a deep economic recession at home and tries to wind down the war in Iraq while stepping up the offensive against Taliban forces in Afghanistan, nuclear programs in both North Korea and Iran remain major foreign policy challenges.

Iran says it is merely trying to develop nuclear reactors for domestic power generation. The U.S. and much of the rest of the world believe the Islamic regime is trying to build a nuclear weapon.

Obama continues to seek dialogueWhile promising to isolate Tehran with painful sanctions if it does not moderate its nuclear ambitions, Obama continues to seek a dialogue through which Iran might gain better ties with the United States and other measures that could help Tehran's struggling economy.

Clinton said she saw no conflict of interest in attempts to negotiate with the Iranian regime despite turmoil inside the country that has seen a major and violent crackdown on supporters of reformist presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi. He claims fraud and ballot rigging cost him his bid to unseat incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Clinton also said that Iran must understand by now that the United States will never let it develop nuclear weapons.

There are concerns that Israel, seen as a primary target of an Iranian weapons program, might launch a first strike to destroy Tehran's nuclear sites before the Islamic regime is able to build a bomb.

Clinton said that Washington hopes the Jewish state understands American attempts to talk to Iran is a better approach.

The secretary of state set off a major debate last week when she said in a television interview in Thailand: "We want Iran to calculate what I think is a fair assessment: that if the United States extends a defense umbrella over the region ... it is unlikely that Iran will be any stronger or safer because they won't be able to intimidate and dominate as they apparently believe they can once they have a nuclear weapon."

She subsequently backpedaled, especially in the face of Israeli concerns that she was acknowledging the inevitability of Iran gaining a nuclear arsenal.

Shutting the door on presidential run
Also Sunday, the 61-year-old Clinton appeared to come closer to shutting the door to another presidential campaign, after her defeat for the Democratic nomination last year by Obama.

"Well, you know, I say no, never, you know, not at all. I don't know what, what else to say," Clinton said on NBC television's "Meet the Press" after host David Gregory noted that she left some wiggle room in an interview last week in Thailand.

He followed up by asking, "Are you saying you wouldn't entertain another run?"

Clinton's response was less direct: "I have absolutely no belief in my mind that that is going to happen, that I have any interest in it happening. You know, as I said, I, I am so focused on what I'm doing."

In the interview on Thai television, Clinton said, "I don't know, but I doubt very much that anything like that will ever be part of my life."

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